The Experimental Fantasist

It occurs to me that a Paganism that is a generalized, syncretic, eclectic non-religion isn't necessarily a bad thing, no matter how fuzzy it sometimes makes internet discussions. Perhaps the place for more formalized religion in Paganism is in a role similar to ancient Mystery Cults.

It is no secret. All power is one in source and end, I think. Years and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man's hand and the wisdom in a tree's root: they all arise together.

― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

As I write this, I'm watching the last act of Snow White and the Huntsman. That I'm doing a review before the show is over says something, I think.

The story isn't bad. It's a gritty interpretation that manages to put in dirt and blood while retaining the straightforward roles and tropes of the fairy tale. Visually, the movie is pretty, the music is OK, if not particuarly original. Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron do a good job with what they're given, and even Kristen Stewart manages to act in a few scenes.

So, I had this idea. I don’t mind sharing it here, as I’m fairly confident that no one is going to pay me to produce a Batman TV series.

While I was making breakfast this morning, I was asking myself what, as a game master, I want from a gaming group. It comes down to five points, all of which are variations on “proactive players.” Nothing in gaming gets me going quite like inventing NPCs and folklore and history on the fly. On the other hand, nothing slows me down quite so much as a  table full of people sitting quietly, waiting for me to bring the fun ; worse, a table full of people sitting quietly on Facebook or IM or playing Minecraft or anything but focusing on the game we’re playing.

Well, friends, it seems I’ll be a talking head at BayCon this weekend. I’m on nine panels across three days, mostly back-to-back. I’ll likely be brain fried at the end of each day, but it will doubtless be fun.

This is actually something of a dream come true for me. For the longest time, I’ve had this feeling of being on the outside of something, in fandom. Like there was some unseen velvet rope marking the boundary between the actors and the audience.

Games are things in their own right, and not just a set of tools for creating a shared experience.  I’m not just talking about games-as-artifacts, though a well-made game book is a beautiful thing. Mostly, I’m talking about the rules as a structure, as a machine made of words.

In his graphic novel From Hell, author, magician, and professional mad bastard Alan Moore wrote, "If there is one place that gods inarguably exist . . . it is in the human mind, where they are real, in all their grandeur and monstrosity." He has since spent a good deal of his time exploring that idea and its implications for spirituality and magick.

Well, there are three things I’ve learned from my first two weeks of “serious” blogging.
 
First, my service provider will fail at times. This will screw up my posting and sometimes my existing content. When it happens, fix it and get back on the horse.
 

Hello, all. Not an auspicious start, I'm afraid.
 
I fell ill last week, and I haven't gotten a process for queuing posts for automatic publication in place, so I'm afraid I've missed a week. Problems with my hosting service didn't help any.
 
Regular content will resume today or tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.